Catholics Embrace Anglicans After 475 Years

Bridging a 475-year-old rift dating back to King Henry VIII's split with Rome, Pope Benedict XVI has made the historic decision to allow disaffected members of the Anglican communion to join the Catholic church. Converts would be allowed to keep many of their distinctive traditions.
This has been called the "most sweeping gesture" the Vatican has made toward any schismatic church since the Reformation.

What
does this mean? The 77-million member Anglican communion has been riven by conflict over ordaining women and gay clergy in recent years. The pope's decision could allow entire communities to leave the church, unraveling the attempts of Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, to heal divisions. The biggest reactions are from England, where many writers
are asking whether this will result in an exodus of Anglicans, and pondering how it could change the Catholic Church.

High Growth African Congregations May Split writes Nick Squires in the Christian Science Monitor. "The initiative was in response to years of lobbying by Anglicans who
had become disenchanted with Anglican liberalism, a dissatisfaction
which reached a crisis point in 2004 when the Episcopal Church in the
United States ordained the first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of
New Hampshire."

Archbishop Was Forced to Grin and Bear It, writes Ian Murray at National Review. "It may mean that the current Archbishop of Canterbury, has, in his
desire to please everyone, presided over a schism that could prove
fatal to his Church...There are signs, for instance, that His Grace had his arm twisted by
the (Catholic) Archbishop of Westminster in their making a joint
announcement."

Anglican Churches Will Slide Into Irrelevance, says Scott Richert
at About.com's Catholic Blog. Richert gives a Catholic perspective,
saying the Anglican church's embrace of liberal reforms is to blame. "A few observations: By endorsing this
statement, especially the first
paragraph ('accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his
Church'), the archbishop of Canterbury has essentially signaled that
the game is over. Those in the Anglican Communion who truly believe
that the Church is meant to be one, and to have one visible head, now
have no excuse not to return to Rome...Parts of the Anglican Communion
will now enter into full communion with
the Catholic Church, and the rest will see its long, slow slide into
irrelevance pick up pace."

An Assertive Decree in the Interest of Worshipers, writes the editorial board of the Telegraph (UK). "The Pope's proposed high Anglican enclave within the Roman Catholic
church offers a half-way home to those who will never be reconciled to
the liberal reforms in the Anglican Communion - which might now avoid
the schismatic clash that for so long has seemed inevitable over the
ordination of women bishops. If that is now a less problematic issue
for the Church of England, then Dr Williams may yet have cause to thank
the Pope, even if he presently feels deeply aggrieved at the peremptory
manner of this decree."

Solution to Catholic Clergy Problems, writes Andrew Brown at the Guardian. "For a start, this establishes a tradition of married Roman
Catholic clergy in the west. The language, the services, and the
gorgeous choral music of Anglicanism
are more obviously attractive, but the real long term significance of
this announcement is the talk about seminaries. Those who leave now
will not be the last Anglican Catholics...If the former
Anglicans can train up successors who will also be able to have wives,
the Roman Catholic church may have found a way to escape the prospect
of a largely gay priesthood to which the doctrine of compulsory
celibacy appeared to condemn them. It is ironic that Anglican efforts
to deal honestly with the problem of sexuality should have provided the
Catholics with the excuse they needed to strike this decisive blow. God
always did move in mysterious ways."

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